Blog posts tagged with rwanda

May 5, 2013 Kiva HQ KV
Passport Series: Kiva partners offer innovative solutions in Rwanda By Emily Wakefield
Tragedy struck Rwanda almost 20 years ago when hundreds of thousands of citizens were killed in a matter of months in a horrific genocide. While great strides have been made, the economy has never been the same since. Over 40% of the population still lives below the poverty line. We are proud that Kiva’s presence in Rwanda can help the nation regrow by providing opportunity to small businesses and entrepreneurs.

To date, Kiva lenders have made over 7,500 loans (over 60% of them to women) in Rwanda via five local microfinance partners. 

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May 5, 2013 Kiva HQ KV
Passport Series: Rwanda overcomes a brutal history & paves the way for gender equality By Emily Wakefield
No larger than the state of Maryland, Rwanda is a small landlocked nation in the heart of Africa. Full of lakes and very mountainous, it is a beautiful country with just over 12 million inhabitants.



Today, some consider it Africa’s “biggest success story,” but just 19 short years ago the nation was haunted by one of the most horrific genocides in history.

1994 GENOCIDE

Unfortunately, when one thinks of Rwanda perhaps the first thing that comes to mind is its tragic history of genocide. Prompted by decades... Continue Reading >
Mar 3, 2013 Kiva HQ KV
17 (more) photos that changed my world By Camille Ricketts
This is a guest post from Bob Harris, author, adventurer, Kiva super lender, and captain of the incredible Friends of Bob Harris lending team. This is the second in a series of posts from Bob chronicling his travels around the world meeting Kiva borrowers. Read his last piece about traveling on a budget, and start getting excited about the release of his new book The International Bank of Bob, available starting March 5.

In the various travels that led to the book, I was lucky enough to bring a camera to more... Continue Reading >
Jun 6, 2010
Welcoming Amasezerano Community Banking, S.A. to Kiva By Kathy Guis

Kiva’s newest field partner, Amasezerano Community Banking S.A. is as lovable as its native country Rwanda. And that’s no small statement, because Rwanda could win anyone over—it has endless green hills and an engaged, courageous citizenry.


Rwanda is often seen as an international development success story in process—Kigali’s streets are clean, and the Rwandan population benefits from basic national health insurance. But poverty remains grinding and ever-present. The majority of the population lives below 250 Rwandan francs (about $0.43) per day (CIA World Factbook), and the...

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